Closure sealing apparatus



United States Patent Int. Cl. E06b 7 /23 US. Cl. 49-488 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Closure sealing apparatus in which one of each pair of corresponding peripheral edges of the closure and surrounding closure frame is provided with a gasket having a base portion and a resilient loop enclosing an air space and extending from the base portion. Frame-mounted gaskets have their loop extending from the base portion in the direction of closing of the closure, the loop terminating short of the edge of the frame surface that abuts with the forward edge of the closure when fully closed within the frame. Closure-mounted gaskets have their loop extending from the base portion in the direction of opening of the closure. The loops are compressed when the closure is closed within the frame to form a soundproof seal without interfering with the closing of the closure.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 489,106, filed Sept. 22, 1965 for Closure Sealing Apparatus, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to closure sealing apparatus and, more specifically, to'sealing constructions adapted for such purposes as enabling the effective acoustical and/ or weather stripping of doors and similar structures.

For many decades, numerous different types of sealing gaskets, resilient strippings, weather linings and the like have been applied to windows, doors and similar closures to enable the space and cracks between the closure and the frame receiving the same to be eifectivly closd off, blocking the entry or escape of air carrying with it acoustic energy or temperature variations. In the particular case of sealing devices suited to soundproof closures, various types of air-containing compressible gaskets have been employed along the peripheral borders of the closure and/or its frame. A very successful arrangement of this character is described, for example, in US. Letters Patent No. 3,059,287, issued Oct. 23, 1962, to Jordan J. Baruch and Bill G. Watters for Apparatus For and Method of Soundproof Closure Sealing, assigned to the assignee of the present application, Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. In such systems, tubular gaskets are interposed between the closure and frame and are expanded by me chanical means after the closure has been seated within the frame. Such highly effective sealing operation, however, requires the use of rather complicated and costly internal mechanisms for expanding and retracting the gaskets which, in the case of inexpensive soundproof closures, is not feasible of attainment. Other prior-art gaskets have almost without exception been mounted, at least in part, against stops bordering the inner end of the frame, such gaskets becoming compressed as the closure is brought into abutment thereagainst. Unfortunately, however, the act of closing the door requires the compressing of the complete gasket at one time, requiring considerable pressure or force to effect the closure and tending, in use, to warp the door as a result of this force. Any warpage in the door or other closure, moreover, may prevent complete sealing; and, indeed, in the case of doors or other closures operating within frames that do not have peripheral stops, such gaskets are highly ineffective.

'ice

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provlde a new and improved and highly inexpensive, although etfective, closure-sealing apparatus that shall not be subject to any of the above-described disadvantages; but that, rather, shall enable the effective closing of closures with minimal force, with highly effective sealing completely about the closure and irrespective of irregularities in the closure edges or the frame surfaces, and that exerts no damaging or warping forces upon the closure structure itself.

A further object is to provide a novel door seal.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter and will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In summary, however, the invention contemplates apparatus for sealing a closure, such as, for example, a door, within a frame of predetermined depth corresponding at least substantially to the width of the closure and having, in combination, resilient gasket means comprising resilient stripping folded back upon itself to provide along one side thereof an outwardly tapering loop enclosing an air space and a fiat section along the other side. The width of the gasket means is less than that of the closure, and the gasket means is mounted along its said flat section on either or both of the edges of the closure (or predetermined edges thereof) and the surface of the frame within which the closure is received. The loops of the gasket means mounted on the frame and on the closure edges respectively face the direction of closing and opening of the closure. The frame-mounted gasket terminates short of the frame stop, or, more generically, short of the edge of the frame surface that becomes aligned with the forward edge of the closure when fully closed within the frame. Preferred constructional details are hereinafter set forth.

The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which is an isometric view, fragmentized, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is illustrated in connection with its application to doors and door frames, although it is to be understood that the novel features herein may similarly be applied to other types of closures where similar results are desired. A door 1 is shown pivotable in the direction of the arrow toward a door frame 3 of depth corresponding substantially to the door thickness and that, in this example, is provided with a peripheral stop 5. When the door 1 is fully closed and thus received within the frame 3, its left-hand edge 1' becomes juxtaposed to the inner frame surface 3, and its front edge 1 abuts against the stop 5. The upper edge 7 of the door 1 similarly is then adjacent the upper inner frame surface 3 with its forward edge abuttin against the stop 5.

Unlike some of the above-mentioned prior-art gaskets that extend along the region of the stop surfaces 5, 5', etc., and require considerable force to effect sealed closure and also exert warping forces upon the door structure itself, a novel type and position of gasketing for effecting sealing is provided. The gasket means itself is shown comprising a resilient strip 2, as of fabric-reinforced plasticized vinyl plastic, low friction rubber stripping, and the like, that is folded back upon itself to provide along one side an outwardly tapering loop L enclosing an air space 2 therewithin, and terminating along its other side in a flat backing section 2 from which the loop extends. It is to be understood, of course, that instead of forming the gasket means 2 in the manner shown, it may be extruded in one piece; but it will still have the folded back loop L and the flat section 2". A similar section of gasket 2 is shown disposed along the top edge 7 of the door 1. For the purposes of the present invention,

gasket 2 is less than the thickness-ofthe door 1.-Thegaskets 2 are mounted upon the upper edge 7 of the door 1 and upon the frame surface'3 by securing the fiat section 2" thereto, as with the aid of adhesive. Clearly, other types of securing, including stapling, could be used.

It will be observed, however, that the loop L of the gasket 2 mounted upon the frame surface 3 faces in the direction of closure; whereas the loop L of the gasket 2 upon the upper edge 7 of the door 1 faces in the opposite direction, namely, the direction of opening, for reasons hereinafter explained. It will also be noted that the forward edge of the loop L of the gasket 2 mounted upon the door frame surface 3 is displaced from the stop region 5 and thus terminates short of the edge of the frame surface that abuts the forward edge 1" of the door 1 when fully closed within the frame. This is as contrasted with prior-art gaskets in which the forward edge of the door engages a sealing gasket, with the attendant disadvantages above discussed.

As the door is closed, the edge 1 will ride gradually along the tapered loop L resiliently gradually compressing the same, and the forward edge 1" will proceed beyond the compressed loop L and abut against the stop 5. The compressed loop L will thus effect sealing within the side edge 1' of the door 1, exerting no pressure against the lateral sides of the door. It will also be noted that for airborne sound to pass this seal, it will have to p netrate a double layer of resilient gasketing material provided by the collapsed loop L, as distinguished from mere open weather stripping flaps and the like that have previously been employed. In addition, because of the construction of the gasket 2, again as distinguished from mere weather stripping flaps, each individual point longitudinally along the resilient gasket 2 will be substantially independently compressed and acted upon by adjacent points of the door edge. This provides for independent sealing at each successive point and obviates the mass bending of a large section of flap that occurs with weather stripping flaps and that consequently enables gaps to result. The gasket design is thus one which is very nearly point reacting, at least much more so than most gaskets; that is, the point-to-point compliance in the horizontal direction is large so that if there is a bump on the edge of the door, the seal closes well around that bump without leaving a large hole.

The combination attainable by the invention, in which gaskets are provided on the door jamb frame on the sides (as at 3) and on the tops and bottoms of the door (shown at 7), is particularly effective in dealing with the plaguing corner seal problem. The corner seal is usually handled by awkward mitred joints which are now unnecessary through the use of the combination of side, and top and bottom seals.

Precisely this same gradual tapered resilient sealing action takes place as the frame surface 3" effectively rides over the gasket 2 carried by the top edge 7 of the door 1, during closure.

In view of the sealing action intermediate the front and rear surfaces of the door and of the frame, the present invention is thus equally useful with closures that have no peripheral stops, strips or other means. In addition, the invention enables use of the same gaskets on all edges of the frame or door, although with the different orientations above discussed, and also permits effective use with door thresholds.

As exemplary of the vast improvement in performance and simplicity effected in accordance with the present invention, it has been determined, in practice, that presentday foam plastic, fabric blade and foamed gasket sealers require from about 23 to -to-close the door and effect'a satisfactory seal; whereas more than 50 lbs. of pressure with a fabric-lined polyvinyl plastic-covered gasket 2 of about 1% in overall length or width, having a loop L slightly less than /41" in length and a fiat section 2" slightly less than /2" in length-and about 30 mils thick, requires only about 11 lbs. of pressure on a 3' x 7 door to effect the sealing. I

Since automatically operative mechanical closures of reasonable size can only produce about 15 lbs. of pressure, moreover, they cannot be used to effect closure of the above-rnentioned prior-art types of scaled doors; but they are admirably suited for use with the present invention.

The novel seal herein described, moreover, has been found not to compromise the acoustical transmission loss provided by a 1%" solid core wood door.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for sealing a closure within a frame, said closure having peripheral edges defining the outer periphery thereof and surrounded by corresponding peripheral edges of said frame when said closure is closed, said apparatus, having, in combination, gasket means comprising a base portion and a resilient loop enclosing an air space and extending from said base portion, said base portion being mounted upon a peripheral edge of said frame with the said loop extending therefrom in the direction of closing of said closure, said loop terminating short of the edge of the frame surface that abuts with the forward edge of the closure when fully closed within the frame, the spacing between the peripheral edges of the closure and the frame being such that said loop is engaged by said closure and compressed thereby as the closure is closed within the frame, whereby said gasket means provides an effective acoustic-attenuator seal without the interposition of the gasket means between said forward edge of the closure and said abutting edge of the frame surface and without interfering with the closing of the closure.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and in which additional gasket means of the type recited in claim 1 is mounted by its base portion upon the bottom peripheral edge of said closure with its loop extending therefrom in the direction of opening of said closure.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 and in which one of each remaining pair of corresponding peripheral edges of said frame and said closure are provided with further gasket means of the type recited in claim 1 so that substantially the entire outer periphery of said closure is surrounded by said gasket means located within the space between the peripheral edges of the closure and the frame when the closure is closed.

References Cited DAVlD T. WI LLIAMOWSKI, Primary Examiner P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner US. or. IX.R. 49-498 

